Police Respond to Threats Made at Multiple Schools in Upstate NY

This is developing news, and we will continue to update this story with any more useful information we receive throughout the day.

Police in Albany say that reports of an "active shooter" inside Albany High School are "completely unfounded" and that faculty and staff are safe.

But they did lead on that there have been many "swatting threats" made to various schools in the area and throughout the state.

Albany High on Lockdown?

According to various Facebook posts, Albany High School (and possibly many others) have been placed on lockdown Thursday morning, but there are conflicting reports about what people saw or heard.

Albany Police posted this on their Facebook page just after 9 AM on Thursday morning:

Reports of an active shooter at Albany High School are completely unfounded. All students and staff at the school are safe. There have been several swatting phone calls made across the Capital Region and state and we’re investigating.

What is swatting?

Swatting is a criminal harassment tactic, or a prank call done to deceive an emergency service into sending a police or emergency service response team to another person's address. It's dangerous and highly illegal.

How many schools in Upstate New York are on lockdown?

We've seen reports that multiple schools in the area are on lockdown including schools in Castleton, East Greenbush, Schodack, and  Maple Hill, and as a precaution, there may be many more to follow.

This is a breaking news story and we'll add updates as they come in.